The Rev William Barber says he was trying to use his own chair in the disabled section for a screening of The Color Purple

Movie theatre chain AMC has apologized to a North Carolina civil rights leader after he was kicked out of a screening of The Color Purple for trying to use his own chair in the disabled section.

The Rev William Barber, a former president of the NAACP North Carolina chapter, who suffers from a form of arthritis known as ankylosing spondylitis and walks with two canes, said that he tried to use a special chair he brought to an AMC Cineplex in Greenville on Tuesday afternoon and was told by staff he couldn’t.

Barber, 60, later told CNN that he has a medical condition that makes it impossible to sit in a regular chair. Barber shared a video of the incident that showed a stool-type chair with a backrest and no arms. (Barber has written for the Guardian.)

  • @ElderWendigo
    55•6 months ago

    I’m surprised anyone working at a movie theater is being paid enough to care enough to ruin a disabled person’s day over this shit.

    • eric
      35•6 months ago

      You’re right that they aren’t paid enough to care, but despite that, there are always power hungry dipshits who entirely misinterpret the rules and take enforcement way too far.